My Taiwan Adventure

I've made it. 150 days with nothing but what I could carry in two suitcases and a bank card. Next time I think I can do it with even less. Who knew? I can learn to live without "stuff." It's too heavy to move around all the time anyway.

Of all the people that I knew I never thought I'd become a travelling type. Now that I have some confidence I'm looking towards the horizon with a bit of wander-lust. That being said I'm still looking forward to Canadian blue skies, a good pancake breakfast, Tim Horton's double/double and a sourcream glazed donut at the airport.

The weekend was pretty quiet after the 4 hour graduation ceremony. Yesterday I did some painting and then helped my roommate with the roof-top patio. The plants were in sore need of repotting and she was scared that she'd kill them in the process. I volunteered to help and we went down to the weekend flower market to pick up some pots and soil.

The flower market is an amazing bed of activity and blooms. They had everything from simple flowers to full-size sculptured trees. The place was packed with weekend browsers as Sunday is the only day off for a lot of the Taiwanese. I could have spent the whole day longing after the greenery. The flowers were amazing and orchids are astonishingly cheap here. It's good that I went with a purpose or I would have gone home with bundles of plants.

Armed with 75 litres of soil and some gigantic pots we came back with a taxi to the apartment. I spent the afternoon puttering happily in the dirt and chatting with the roommate. It was so nice to nurture some plants I even managed to look non-chalant with the various bugs that were living in the soil. Most of the plants were terribly root-bound and hopefully the shock of having me rough up their roots and trim off all the dead leaves won't kill too many of them.

I'm planning on buying my roomie a couple of new plants before I leave as a thank-you gift. I haven't made it 100% clear that I'm moving out but we've talked about some of the places I've applied and I think she knows that I'm going to be hitting the open-road soon. Honestly, I don't think I could have found a better situation for my mind-set when I came to Taipei and I'll always think of our rooftop fondly.

This week is TEST week for me. I'm giving all my classes tests this week and then having to deal with the grading work-load that is going to cause me. *cringing* It's good that I got my hand in some dirt this weekend because I think I"m going to need all the relaxation and nature I can get to make it through this mountain of paperwork. I even walked half-way to work this morning just to enjoy the movement of my body in the already scorching early morning sun.

I'm thinking of my friends in Calgary right now and praying for them that the rain doesn't cause too many hardships. I think my sister may have been evacuated?

God bless you all.
T. Destiny in Taipei

Post a Comment